What up my glip-glops?! So, here I am waiting for Better Call Saul, no, Justified, nope, The Americans to come on (oh this is late), and I figure I've had plenty of
time to digest the latest Naka-Kon.
First, overall, it was pretty good. Prettay, prettay good. A positive experience and a good convention organized competently by people that don't get enough appreciation. We saw a lot of
enthusiastic people there, in a lot of great costumes having a lot of fun. As usual we went to some panels, did some rave documenting, did some shopping, went to some events, saw some games, and
some gamers, and it was all an entertaining well run affair.
Yet, personally it didn't reach the great heights as last year. I have a couple of ideas of why this was the case, and I'll touch on that later. Something I do want to point out is that this year we didn't get any weird, aggressive hassle from the organizers due to for confusingly secretive reasons; nor was security giving me the stink eye(1). In fact, this year the media pass requirements were easy to come by and clearly delineated (a shout out to the girl with purple hair for getting us squared away there, thanks!). So in that regard we started off totally free and easy.
Furthermore, the registration process was again so streamlined, that I just walked in and out. Mr. J pre-registered, which depending on when you do is naturally to your benefit monetarily. But I
like to test things out a little more. Granted I picked up my badge early Friday and did the "online check-in" (a great feature) so it isn't like I have the best data to judge them by. Still,
even on Saturday when the line was bonkers long, people weren't complaining and we heard that wait times were low. And hey, when you got done, free Pocky!
Let me move along to highlight what else was good this year. The merchandise room was set up in the most flow-friendly way I have seen yet (and this includes other conventions). It was not hard
to navigate at all in there. There was good stuff to be had this year as there is every year … if lame capybaras, Mr. J. I did pick up Roberta's Blood Trail from the same guy I
bought the main series from at Nebraskon, which was cool. Autograph lines were better managed this year, and we heard positive feedback on that. Also, the zero day anime viewings on Thursday were
a nice touch according to Mr. J when he picked up his badge. The gaming room got split up, with table top games in their own room, as the gods intended. In the electronic room, they wisely
segregated the Smash Bros tournament players to their own little People's Republic of Smash. Overall the room was a little quieter, but better managed. Other little things I liked seeing return
was their cosplay repair center (a fine, smart choice), the communal drawing mural, and the Live Mario Party, which drew a big crowd and was so much fun, one might lose their pants! Oh and, they
always have such a nice convention booklet produced for everyone.
Overland Park Convention Center (hereafter OPCC) was on their snack game too! They had the snack bar in the merchandise room, two buffet style snack lines setup, the cafe, and then a quick and
easy pizza special in their main restaurant. However! Taking the (snack)cake was an inspired pork ramen bowl special from a one Chef Alex, who in his suit, with his groomed mustache, cat like
face, and vaguely European accent, asked me, "Do you like, cilantro?" And yes that dropped comma is on purpose. That's exactly how he asked it. C'mon, it can't get any better. It was a nice
touch, and wonderfully, charmingly random. But most of all, it hit the spot as Mr. J and I waited around drinking beers before we went onto our next task Saturday night.
The panels were good too. They brought in good guests, like Junko Takeuchi, voice of Naruto (among several many others, though interestingly including Gumball in the Japanese dub of the Amazing World of Gumball), for interactive events with the attendees. Another great guest and a big get for Naka-Kon was the musician Hachioji P, who DJ'd both nights to much fanfare.
The "Your Fandom Sucks" talk by Greg Ayres was not the hate fest you might think (and that I desperately wanted), but overall a pretty level-headed recollecting of horror stories by a long time
con goer and industry insider. There were other guests there as well, ranging from voice actors and industry figures to media experts and cultural educators. Now the Crunchyroll industry panel…
this played, uh, not so great with me and Mr. J. The presenters were fine, and their presentation was fine, insofar as they were capable presenters. But there was to me something eye-rollingly
lame about their premium-plus tier they were introducing, probably because it's a lame subscription based form of capitalism that privileges a phony-VIP-elite status with diminishing returns in a
non-equal exchange of fiat to services rendered, while also in turn creating the illusion that said elite status means something more than a larger hole in the pocket. But that quibble was not
nearly as lame as the shows they previewed. One, I don't even remember the name, which was a rip-off (or charitably, an homage) of [adult swim] style shows. It was more or less, Ghost Rider meets
Axe Cop with a Minoriteam (remember Minoritream? No? Ok.) layout/(non)animation style. At least it was attempting humor even if crude. The other show was well, almost insultingly stupid. Donut
Cats (Donyatsu)--exactly what it sounds like-- I think is designed for babies or people who have been in terrifying motorcycle accidents. I think Mr. J, had himself his Plato's Cave
moment.
Words don't accurately describe the deep, ancient, transcendent hate I have for Donut Cats. Or rather for what Donut Cats represents, which is the apparent mass commercialization of the lest common denominator. Granted, I'm willing to concede that I could be entirely wrong, that the preview clip was a poor selection, an outlier, to what is a show filled with heartfelt moments, a smart concept, clever plotting, rich nuanced characters, and a staggering mythology of a backstory. [There might just be something to this show based on my poking around online: it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humanity and seemingly most creatures.] But somehow, I doubt that. I'm sure that there are those who will claim I'm being too hard on what's just silly fun. And to that I respond, poorly constructed, pandering, baseline humor, all for lame gags and cheap laughs is still shit because it could be better with just a little more effort.
Bleh… moving on -now that I'm on the subject- to what could have used more work.
There was a hiccup in the cosplay competition. The competition itself was over in about 90 minutes, and to be fair for the audience, was all well and good; fun stuff and a nice showcase of
people's talents and imagination. Seriously, go check out the gallery, people worked pretty hard. But it took another three hours (if memory serves) before the awards ceremony got started. That's
baaaad. Now, part of this was the organizers fault-- they said they should have been judging craftsmanship well before the contestants hit the stage, but part of it was happenstance, as way, way
more contestants entered into the craftsmanship category. This delay was pretty manageable for us (and we imagine many audience members), assuming we didn't rub against something else we wanted
to be at. In the interim we, like others, just grabbed a beer or wandered around for awhile. But for the contestants, who had already been there since like 10 am (I know, right?), the drone and
dragging of time wasn't cool. Several folks dropped out of the competition before even taking the stage, not aware of how much of a time commitment it was. Others simply bailed on the judging and
awards, to go do what they wanted, and probably also to get the fuck out of that room. It's a huge unavoidable blackhole of time suckage, bearing the same effect as turning on Skyrim: suddenly 6
hours have gone by and your friends have all left. So, if you're entering the competition you have to be aware it will take time. A lot of time. Being-there-for-the-birth-of-your-child, a lot of
time. However, once the contest itself is over, the judging should be expedited for the sake of all involved: the contestants, the judges, and the audience. No matter what the judging
will take some time, but by evaluating the craftsmanship aspect ahead of time next year they'll avoid an unnecessary drain on people's time and allow them to be on their merry ways and thus
better enjoy the Kon.
My only other real complaint is with the rave(s). The idiot notion that "louder = better, always" should really be shot and buried in a Iowa cornfield. It's aggravating, dangerous, and immature. Seriously turn it down. Redlining your sound is not necessary for it to be loud or good. I don't remember it being like that last year. If I hadn't had the earplugs in my backpack, Mr. J and I wouldn't have been able to shoot the rave. It was painful for me before I put them in and for Mr. J, he said he was getting physically ill. But this is as easy to fix as a dial-down. If anything the real pernicious problem with the rave was attendee irresponsibility… towards their own children. We saw people take their babies into the raves. Now, I get it, you don't have a sitter, or you just want your kid to see the cool stage and foggy ravey-lights and have them dance around some corner. But when the music is that loud, it reeks of irresponsibility, not inclusion. It was gross.
Otherwise, this was a smoothly operating Kon at a site that itself was very hospitable. Nothing that I've said here is a black stripe, more just a slight smudge at the proverbial corner.
Now I mentioned early on in this review that while this convention was good it wasn't as great as last year on a personal dimension, despite it being overall a very enjoyable, well oiled machine.
That's just a matter of one guy's experience. There just wasn't the magic that last year had. I mentioned last year that the karaoke event turned my opinion of the Kon on its head and was just a
lot of fun itself. It made the Kon into something special that transcended its limits. This year we attended karaoke but the spontaneous energy wasn't there this time. However, people with very
competent singing voices were, so they made the event entertaining in a different way. Beyond the karaoke event (but also related to it) we didn't see a few familiar faces. We felt that lack, and
it was kind of a bummer, since we knew that they'd be a lot of fun at this event, and just to see around. Another of our Kon-quaintances who we met at karaoke last year, bailed at the last minute
(understandably due to exhaustion) and that colored things too. But sometimes, you can't replicate greatness.
Alain Badiou has a theory of the Event: they are singular instances, ruptures in the order of things, that open up possibilities for new potentialities, and alter the subject of one's being. I like to think that last year's karaoke was an Eventish thing, and that's what made it special. But if that's true then it really isn't repeatable, even if the people we wanted to be there were. That's okay too. It's kind of sad knowing you can't capture that feeling again. [And yeah, believe me, I realize that invoking Alain Badiou (and a likely misappropriation of his thinking) about a convention is rather silly.] But, still it would have been more fun with those people around, even if it didn't reach the dizzying heights of last year. Ultimately, that's really the thing that makes a Kon, or any event really, special, who you go with, and an the fun you have with those friends… which now that I say it, is one of those not-so-profound-lame-truisms that is used to describe a lot of experiences.
I do have some concerns about Naka though, and a few thoughts about what to do about that. Overall, the Kon seemed busier but was also oddly quieter. That's good actually. It shows that the
convention is able to handle it's growth and keep people both entertained and moving about freely. Still, there is some (understandable) worry about the footprint of the convention and it
remaining comfortably within the OPCC. Personally, I don't see Naka ever exceeding its limits in my time. But I do see it growing to a point were programming and scheduling are essentially
totally stacked and certain things are weeded out or chosen in preference over other things. I see this scenario playing out in absolute use of space before I see it being a change in
location.
However, Naka was understaffed, and it showed a bit. I remembered seeing more staffers in general last year (but that could just be bias because of some oddball problems we had), and their presence felt thinner this time. This probably exacerbated the perennial, but still few communication issues with the staffers. While communication problems are bound to happen, any we experienced were temporary and didn't really impede us. However we did hear about a VIP Kon-goer getting shafted at a panel and that really shouldn't have happened, but that was also the single worst example we heard. Here's my suggestion: Guys, the Kon needs people to support it in more ways than just attendance. Go ahead and volunteer for one of the many areas where they need person-power to better manage the crowds, doors, and questions! If you love it, help it out, eh? This more than anything is what the Kon needs going forward-- enthusiastic and willing support staff that are capable of helping out.
(...The only other thing I have to suggest is that on the programming schedule, they have an asterisk that leads to a note for "Photography not Permitted" for those events where such is the
case.)
And that's all I really have to offer. Again, it was overall a well run affair and very pleasant to attend. As long as they keep this up and are diligent about working the rather minor issues, I
can't see anything but nerdy-glory for Naka-Kon, Kansas City's little convention that could. Now, as I said earlier, I picked up Roberta's Blood Trail at Naka, and thus, here is a promissory note
Poppers, I will be returning to and finishing my Black Lagoon reviews. I will also be doing a review of Space Dandy season two, and I will offer a few thoughts on Kill la Kill… assuming my
rewatching of Steven Universe and playing of TES: Oblivion doesn't suck me into a time warp.
Wubbalubbadubdub!
~Rousseau
(1). We never told this story about last year, and now, looking back on it, we probably never will, because it's stupid and unnecessary, and frankly we're over it.
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